Forest Folk Shall Not Leave These Woods
by Ghost of Summer's Rain
Summary: That's what the sign in the Kokiri Forest says...But how did Link leave without dying like the Deku Tree said? And if Zelda's his sister, what happened to her? (She's his sister in the games but not the manga, I know that ok?)
1. Zelda

There they were. The King and Queen of Hyrule, seperated from their escorts, lost in the woods, and the Queen expecting a baby soon...  
  
Not a good day.  
  
"Oh..." moaned the Queen, "Oh, no, no, no...There are bound to be Wolfos everywhere..."  
  
The bushes rustled.  
  
"EEK!"  
  
"Oh, for the goddesses' sakes...What now?" said the tired and annoyed King.  
  
"Oh! Oh!"  
  
"Calm down! There are no Wol –"  
  
A very large pack of Wolfos emerged from the bushes.  
  
"AAHH!" cried the Queen.  
  
"Get – get out of here! Go on! GET AWAY FROM US!" the King roared, trying to scare them away.  
  
A sharp slash narrowly missed his nose.  
  
"WAH!" he yelled, seizing the hand of his trembling wife and dashing away.  
  
Finally the King stopped, hiding behind the biggest tree he had ever imagined. Then he realized – her wrist had slipped from his fingers!  
  
***  
  
The Queen could see a giant tree in the clearing ahead. But...wait. It had – a face! The Deku Tree, she realized. They were in the Kokiri Forest. She tried to get up, but couldn't.  
  
"Ooowww..."  
  
She could see a large white flower drifting to ground from the tree. It's petals opened to slow the fall, and to reveal – a tiny infant. So...was this how a Kokiri was born? From a flower...  
  
A howl sounded behind her. The Wolfos were surrounding her, closing in. The Queen still couldn't move! There was no escape...  
  
***  
  
The King stared at the baby girl resting on a flower, who was crying loudly. Was this...? It had to be. His daughter. But his wife was nowhere to be seen. She had wanted a girl. They had thought of the perfect name.  
  
"Zelda..." he said. 


	2. Link

About twelve years later...  
  
***  
  
"Saria! SARIA!"  
  
"What is it? What happened?" she asked, lowering her ocarina.  
  
"The – the Great Deku Tree – is dead!" cried Mido.  
  
Saria gasped. "What?! No!"  
  
"Follow me!" Mido yelled over his shoulder.  
  
The two Kokiri sprinted off, joined by others along the way, through the tall grass and hanging branches, until they came to a great clearing. There stood the giant tree, leaves brown and trunk gray, in the silence. Then someone spoke.  
  
"Saria!" Link called, recognizing her green-haired head in the crowd of blonde ones.  
  
"You!" gasped a round-eyed girl, "I – I saw you go inside the Deku Tree!"  
  
"I did!" she told the others, "He – he went in and he killed –"  
  
"Link would never!" snapped Saria, seizing Mido's arm to stop him from leaping onto him.  
  
"Then what was he doing?" said one voice, followed by a chorus of "yeah!"s.  
  
"There...was a curse," Link mumbled "I was only..."  
  
But no one was listening, and Saria was leading him away.  
  
"Thanks," he said, glad to out of the crowd, "But...Saria, I have to go..."  
  
"Go? Wait – you mean – leave the forest?! But Link, you can't! The Great Deku Tree said you'll die if you leave!"  
  
"The Deku Tree was the one keeping our forest alive anyway. What's going to happen now?"  
  
"Link, if this is because...Look, the others will come to their senses. I know you would never..."  
  
"It's not that...I just have to. I'm sorry."  
  
He began walking towards the bridge that led to the outside world.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
Link turned.  
  
"Wait. Please. Take...take my ocarina," said Saria, holding out her prized possession, "To...remember me by..."  
  
He stood there a few moments, instrument in his hands, eyes glittering, then fled without looking back. 


	3. Seven Years

Seven years later...  
  
***  
  
"Link!" cried Saria.  
  
She held her arms out, about to hug him, then realized how tall he was now. She still didn't understand how he could have grown up. Kokiri were children their whole lives...  
  
"Oh!" she said, finding that her arms were still held out as if frozen there.  
  
Remembering why they were standing there in the Chamber of Sages, she hastily gave Link the Forest Medallion.  
  
"Still friends, after seven years, right?" said Saria, breaking the awkwardness.  
  
"Saria, you'll always be my friend," said Link, finally smiling.  
  
"I...was so worried, I remember, when you first left. But you were so brave..."  
  
There was silence, then she spoke again.  
  
"Remember what the Great Deku Tree said? Kokiri would die if we left our forest. But...you're alright. The Deku Tree wouldn't lie to us, would it?"  
  
"Hey!" said a small voice. Navi zoomed out from under Link's shield.  
  
"Oh!" said Saria in surprise, "I forgot. Your fairy. What was her name?"  
  
"Navi," said Navi, "And I just thought of something. I don't think the Deku Tree was lying. Maybe what it meant was that Kokiri would die of old age if they left. That would explain why you grew up, Link!"  
  
Saria's eyes widened. "Of course!"  
  
"That's Navi," said Link, "She knows everything."  
  
"Anyway," said Navi quickly, "We'd better go. Maybe we could visit you at the Forest Temple someday. Someday when all of this is over."  
  
"I promise," said Link.  
  
"Yeah," Saria said a little sadly. 


End file.
